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How Long?
A Reading A–Z Poetry Book
Word Count: 616

POETRY

How Long?

Written by Dina Anastasio • Illustrated by Cende Hill

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How Long?

Written by Dina Anastasio
Illustrated by Cende Hill

Photo Credits:
Back cover, 10 (top two), 11 (top two): © ArtToday; page 7: © Nick Clements/
Getty Images; pages 10 (clock), 11 (clock): © Hemera Technologies; page 12:
© ProQuest Information and Learning Company

How Long?
A Reading A–Z Poetry Book
© 2006 ProQuest Information
and Learning Company
Written by Dina Anastasio

Illustrated by Cende Hill
All rights reserved.

www.readinga-z.com

www.readinga-z.com


How Many Sides?

Table of Contents
How Many Sides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How Long? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Is It Time Yet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Another Zero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Think of a square.
There are 4 equal sides.
When you think of a triangle,
Let 3 sides be your guide.
A rectangle has 2 short sides
And 2 long.
But it’s easy to picture
All those other shapes wrong.
A pentagon has 5 sides.
An octagon 8.
A hexagon has 6 sides.
Careful! Keep them straight.
But there’s one easy shape
That you’ll always remember.

A circle goes round
Like December to December.

What Is an Hour? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What Is a Minute? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
What Is a Second? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3

4


Is It Time Yet?

How Long?

I think I’d better watch my watch.
The race begins at 9.
The big hand ticks past 5 and 6.
I walk up to the line.

It must take an inchworm
quite a long time to go,
For an inchworm is short.
It’s a slowpoke you know.
An inchworm’s 1 inch,
not 8, 6, or 3.
But working together
12 inchworms can be
As long as a foot.

That’s 12 inches in all.
A foot is 12 inches
whether spread out or tall.
So if 12 inch-long inchworms
stretched out side by side,
Would they be a foot?
That’s for you to decide.

The little hand is creeping.
It’s moving way too slow.
I wait for it to reach the 9.
At 9 it’s “Ready? GO!”
The big hand ticks past 7 now.
It moves past 8, 9, 10.
10 minutes left till 9 o’clock.
I watch my watch again.
The little hand creeps toward the 9.
The big hand’s on 11.
The other runners join me now.
I count them. There are 7.
The man shouts, “Are you ready?”
My watch goes tick, tick, tock.
The man shouts, “GO!” The race begins.
It must be 9 o’clock.
5

6


8:25

8:55

Another Zero

8:35

When I’m in line and have to wait,
I think of numbers standing straight.
Each number is my special friend.
They form a line from start to end.
First number 1 stands on her own.
Then 0 comes. 1’s not alone.
Together they make number 10.
And then a 0 comes again.
The line is longer, 100 now.
Here comes another 0. Wow!
Look! Now 1000 form the line.
Each one says she’s a friend of mine.

9:00

7

8


What Is an Hour?
What is an Hour?
It’s a very long bath.

It’s a rather long stroll
down a rather long path.
It’s two half-hour shows,
or a long lazy meal.
It’s 360 quick barks
from a loud hungry seal.
It takes one full hour,
no less and no more,
For the small hand
to go from the 3 to the 4.
That’s because all small hands
move slowly round clocks.
And while yours is moving
you can build with your blocks.
If you try not to hurry
and create a huge tower,
It will probably take
60 minutes, or one hour.

9

10


What Is a Second?

What Is a Minute?
What is a minute?
It’s the time it will take
To slather blue frosting

on a chocolate cupcake.
It’s a short little message,
or a handshake or two.
It takes just a minute
to buckle your shoe.
It’s 60 short seconds.
It’s a nice gentle hug.
It’s how long to count spots
on a 60-spot bug.
It’s the length of an ad
in your favorite show,
And the time it will take
to spell MUSTARD real slow.
It takes one full minute
for the big hand to click
Around all the numbers.
That’s 60 quick ticks.

What is a second? It’s a wink or a click,
A snap of your fingers, a tock or a tick.
It takes one second to jump up high.
It takes one second to slap your thigh.
In one split second you can slam the door,
Turn off the light or snore one snore.
You can blink 1 blink, or clap 1 clap.
You can count to 1, or tap 1 tap.
snap
clap

11

12